Chapter 107
Aria’s POV
The door clicks shut behind me with a soft thud.
I stop.
The air in the bathroom is thick. Heavier than it should be. The music from outside is still playing, but it’s muffled, like it’s miles away.
And they’re here.
All three of them.
hree ca
Dante leans against the wall by the mirror, his arms crossed, his sharp eyes locked on mine. Enzo is near the sink, quiet and still like a shadow. And Matteo–Matteo stands closest to the door, like he’s guarding it. Like I’m not allowed to leave.
My breath catches in my throat, and for a second, I forget how to breathe.
I should’ve known. I should’ve felt it–the way the air shifted the moment I left the dance floor. The way the club suddenly felt too quiet behind me, too still. Like something was waiting.
Like they were.
I try to keep my voice steady. “Wow. The whole welcoming committee?”
None of them laugh. None of them smile.
Dante pushes off the wall slowly, like a lion stretching before the hunt. “You’re bold tonight, Aria.”
I shrug, trying to play it off. “It’s a club. People dance. People kiss. Nothing serious.”
Matteo’s jaw clenches. He doesn’t speak, just watches me like he’s trying to read my soul. That cold, unreadable stare of his always makes me feel exposed.
Then Enzo moves.
He steps forward, just one slow step. His eyes are dark, unreadable, but I can feel the storm behind them. “Why him?”
I blink. “What?”
“Out of every man in that club, why him?” Enzo’s voice is low. Controlled. But it’s the kind of calm that makes my skin prickle.
I raise my chin. “Because he asked. Because he was nice. Because he wasn’t you.”
The silence that follows feels like thunder waiting to crash. The tension wraps around my chest like a chain.
Dante’s mouth twitches into a smirk, but there’s no humor in it. “So this is your revenge? Grinding on some stranger to get back at us?”
I step back, my hand brushing against the cool marble of the sink. “It’s not revenge if I owe you nothing.”
Matteo moves then–slow, smooth, like a shadow shifting. He walks until he’s behind me, not touching, but close enough that I feel the heat of his body on my back.
“You think we didn’t see the way you looked at us?” he murmurs near my ear. “Like you were dying for us to come down. Like every move you made was for us.”
1/3
Chapter 107
** was?–^ 1 start, but wis wire racks Dame 4.
Tastes in front of me now, his fingere necting out to TraE BY TH TH 20 ohma–just te is knuckles over near my skin. “You’re still pots, Afix*
My heart stumbles in my chret “No, Tim not
* keep swing that. Free ways, now leaning beside the counter. “But you kitted him right in front of us. That wasn’t you letting go, that was you begging for a reaction.”
I want to scream. To push them all away. But my body betrays me–heart racing, skin burning, hands trembling.
“I didn’t do it for you,” I whisper, knowing full well it’s a lie.
Dante tilts his head, eyes burning into mine. “Say it again. Louder. Maybe then you’ll start to believe it.”
Matten leans in closer, his breath warm on my neck. “We gave you space. We stayed back. And you decided to dance for someone else?”
“You left me,” I snap, turning quickly to face him, shoving his chest. It’s like pushing against a brick wall. “You all left me like I didn’t matter, you believed cassandra over me, betrayed and broke my trust, And now you want to act like you care?”
That’s when Enzo steps forward. He gently takes my wrist–firm, not painful. His voice is low. “We’ve always cared, Aria. That’s the problem.”
The bathroom suddenly feels too small. Too hot. My back hits the vanity, and I realize I’m trapped between them. One in front, one behind, one to the side. They haven’t even touched me, not really, but I feel surrounded–by heat, by memory, by want.
“You don’t get to do this,” I say, my voice shaking. “You don’t get to come back like nothing happened.”
“We never said nothing happened,” Dante says, stepping closer. “But you knew what this was, Aria. You knew who we were.”
I swallow hard. “And I still loved you.”
The words slip out before I can stop them.
They freeze.
The silence that follows is deafening.
And I hate myself for saying it. For still meaning it.
Matteo’s fingers curl around the edge of the sink beside me, Dante’s hand twitches like he wants to touch me. Enzo closes his eyes like the words physically hit him.
I close mine too.
Just for a second.
Then I open them–and lift my chin.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I say, voice calmer than I feel, “I came here to use the bathroom. Not to be ganged up on by three ghosts from my past.”
But I don’t move.
And neither do they.
2/3
Chapter 107
Because we all know the truth.
I came here hoping they’d follow.
And now that they’re here, I don’t know if I want to fun
–or let the fire finally consume me.
I hated how they still made me feel. It wasn’t just the memories–they lived under my skin. Their eyes, their scent, the way they moved–it all came rushing back, flooding my chest with heat 1 didn’t ask for. I could still remember the way Dante’s fingers used to brush my lower back like I was something precious. How Enzo could look at me and make me feel seen, truly seen. And Matteo… his silence spoke louder than words. His silence could break me. And maybe that’s why I couldn’t move now–because part of me wanted to believe they came back for more than just a fight. Maybe a small, stupid part of me still hoped they remembered how we used to fit together like we were made to burn. But burns leave scars. And I wasn’t sure if I was still healing–or if I wanted them to rip it all open again.
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